2026 Australian Transport, Freight Forwarding & Logistics: M&A Overview

By Morgan Business Sales | Updated September 2026

Sector Overview

Transport, freight forwarding and logistics is one of the largest and most essential parts of the Australian economy, contributing close to $109.8 billion in industry value added and directly employing around 691,000 people across more than 261,000 businesses nationally - a count that grew 4.9% in the past year alone, one of the strongest increases of any industry. It is also a genuinely varied sector when it comes to what a buyer is actually looking for. A regional linehaul carrier running a fleet of prime movers, a freight forwarder coordinating international sea and air shipments, a third-party logistics operator running a leased warehouse, and a last-mile courier network all sit under the same broad heading, yet they behave like entirely different businesses when it comes to capital intensity, contract structure and margin.

Earnings across the sector have genuinely strengthened. Industry-wide EBITDA rose 9.1% to $49.3 billion in 2024-25 and sales and service income grew close to 8%, driven by road transport, transport support services and postal and courier activity. At the same time, churn is high - only around 48.5% of businesses operating in mid-2021 were still trading four years later, and insolvency appointments across the sector rose 14% in the 2026 financial year even as company insolvencies overall fell. That combination of rising revenue and rising exits is a useful signal for an owner: demand for freight services is not the constraint, but cost pressure, driver scarcity and compliance complexity are pushing many smaller operators toward a sale rather than continuing to trade through them alone.

The market structure has a distinct mid-market pool. Road freight transport is the largest single subsegment by revenue and workforce, with truck drivers the single largest occupation in the sector. Freight forwarding is a smaller but active subsegment built around arranging and taking responsibility for the movement of goods on a client's behalf, while logistics and warehousing businesses increasingly compete on secured industrial premises in a market where vacancy sits below 3.5% in most capital cities. For a business owner considering a sale, the practical read is that buyers are not paying a blanket "transport" multiple - they are paying for contracted revenue, a retained workforce, compliant operations and a secure premises position, and pricing accordingly.

ANZSIC Classification

These classifications help place your business in the right part of the market and identify the owners, operators and buyers most relevant to it. Many businesses span more than one code, so the most useful classification is the activity that generates most of the revenue. This report covers ANZSIC Division I Transport, Postal and Warehousing, focused on the road freight, freight forwarding, logistics and warehousing classes that make up the mid-market pool. Rail, water and air transport (subdivisions 47, 48 and 49) are mostly large-scale, listed or government-owned operators with limited mid-market relevance and are outside this report's scope. Passenger transport (bus and taxi classes within subdivision 46), postal services (class 5101, dominated by Australia Post), stevedoring, port and airport operations (classes 5211, 5212, 5219 and 5220), and grain storage (class 5301) are similarly excluded as large-scale, infrastructure or government-dominated categories.

ANZSIC Class	Title	Relevance to Mid-Market Subsegments
4610	Road Freight Transport	The core mid-market pool - linehaul, local and regional distribution, refrigerated, bulk and livestock transport. Australia's largest freight subsegment by revenue and employment.
5102	Courier Pick-up and Delivery Services	Last-mile and parcel delivery, including contractor-based courier networks. A genuinely active area for technology-enabled consolidation.
5291	Customs Agency Services	Customs clearance and import/export documentation. Often combined with freight forwarding in mid-market businesses.
5292	Freight Forwarding Services	Arranging and taking prime responsibility for the transport of goods by road, rail, air or sea on a client's behalf. A distinct, actively traded mid-market subsegment.
5299	Other Transport Support Services n.e.c.	Freight brokerage, road freight terminals and weighbridges. Includes digital freight broker platforms consolidating smaller operators.
5309	Other Warehousing and Storage Services	Third-party logistics (3PL) warehousing and cold storage - a subsegment under real pressure from tight industrial land and rising rents.

32 Verified M&A Transactions (2021-2026)

This table covers 28 core mid-market transactions, broadly ordered by date, plus four larger deals noted for context. It is not a valuation formula. It is a practical view of the businesses buyers have actually acquired, the capabilities they sought and the prices disclosed where available. Several entries are Morgan Business Sales' own completed transactions, shown without business names to preserve confidentiality. All values are in Australian dollars unless stated otherwise.

#	Target	Acquirer	Value (AUD)	Date	Notes
1	Greenfreight (highway/linehaul division)	Unnamed national carrier	Undisclosed	Sep 2026	Wodonga-based operator founded in 1973 divested the majority of its highway business, citing fuel costs, fire disruption and soft demand - a pattern of partial divestment rather than a full exit as rate pressure squeezed margins.
2	National Transport Solutions	Ofload	Undisclosed	Sep 2026	Digital freight broker consolidation, backed by a $50M receivables facility earmarked for further acquisitions - a strategic bolt-on to build network density rather than a single opportunistic buy.
3	Phoenix Transport	Direct Couriers	Undisclosed	Aug 2026	Queensland courier and transport bolt-on, consistent with the broader trend of scaled last-mile operators absorbing smaller regional players to add depot coverage.
4	Rendr (last-mile delivery platform)	Australia Post	Undisclosed	Apr 2026	Technology and platform acquisition rather than a fleet purchase, reflecting Australia Post's push to strengthen last-mile delivery capability against growing marketplace competition.
5	VT Freight Express	Freightways (NZX/ASX)	$71.0M (approx. 0.92x revenue, derived)	Feb 2026	Asset-light express operator with 87 contractors, 49 staff and 350+ clients on leased facilities; priced on a revenue basis rather than a disclosed EBITDA multiple and expected to be 6% EPS accretive for the buyer.
6	Ron Crouch Transport	Freight Specialists	Undisclosed	Jan 2026	Distressed sale out of voluntary administration; the seller cited sham contracting exposure, rate pressure, driver shortage and regulatory burden - a reminder that not every sale in this sector is on the seller's terms.
7	AFS Logistics	FMH Group (PEP-backed)	Undisclosed	Dec 2025	Private equity platform bolt-on of a 4PL/3PL operator with proprietary technology; the founder retained equity in the transaction, a structure increasingly common for owners wanting a partial rather than full exit.
8	Strait Link (approx. 45% of Bass Strait trade)	Igneo Infrastructure Partners	Undisclosed	Dec 2025	Secondary private equity and infrastructure sale of a business with a dominant position in a defined trade corridor - the kind of scarce route position that attracts infrastructure-style capital.
9	Tomkinson Global Logistics	Vision International Logistics	Undisclosed	Oct 2025	Specialist project and heavy machinery forwarding capability added through a bolt-on acquisition, reflecting continued buyer appetite for forwarders with a defensible technical niche.
10	Fernhurst (12,000-pallet cold store, Truganina)	ERH Refrigerated Transport	Undisclosed	Oct 2025	Cold storage capacity acquisition in a tight industrial land market, where a secured, purpose-built facility carries real strategic value beyond the earnings it currently generates.
11	Total Freight Solutions	RGD Logistics	Undisclosed	Sep 2025	Family-owned business, established 2005, sold through an advised process - a typical succession-driven exit for a founder-run regional operator.
12	RIF Logistics (Australian global forwarding division)	Neolink	Undisclosed	Aug 2025	Divisional carve-out rather than a whole-of-business sale, showing that forwarding capability can be sold as a standalone unit when it sits inside a larger group.
13	North Coast Freight & Lormac Transport	Bulk Group	Undisclosed	Jul 2025	Regional roll-up forming Bulk Regional Express, with the founding owner retained as managing director - a structure that lets an owner de-risk while staying operationally involved.
14	Transolve Global (wine and bulk liquids forwarder)	Toll Group	Undisclosed	May 2025	Specialist capability bolt-on by a major strategic buyer, reflecting steady demand for forwarders with a defensible niche in bulk liquid and wine logistics.
15	SRT Logistics (Tasmania)	Lindsay Australia (ASX: LAU)	Enterprise value approx. $108.2M	May 2025	Platform-scale transaction shown for context; priced at approximately 7.4x forecast EBIT (an EBIT, not EBITDA, multiple) with vendors taking shares in the acquirer rather than cash, and around 15% earnings-per-share accretion expected.
16	Camrandale Transport (livestock carrier, Quilpie)	Martins Stock Haulage	Undisclosed	Apr 2025	Regional livestock transport consolidation - a family business succession sale consistent with the ageing owner profile seen across much of regional road transport.
17	CRE Solutions (Tasmania)	SCT Logistics	Undisclosed	Mar 2025	Advised transaction extending a full-service rail and road logistics operator's presence into Tasmania.
18	Peter Carter Transport	Blacks Transport Group	Undisclosed	Mar 2025	Regional bolt-on by a Queensland-based consolidator running 100+ trucks, adding route density rather than entering a new market.
19	GJ Freight (Western Australia, assets and staff)	Lindsay Australia (ASX: LAU)	Undisclosed (target revenue $20M+)	Feb 2025	Six-site regional operator acquired for its established customer base and depot network, adding scale to a listed strategic buyer's WA footprint.
20	VIC Logistics and Warehousing Business (name undisclosed)	Undisclosed	$4,000,000	2025	Completed asset sale; revenue approximately $13,625,525, EBITDA approximately $1,265,823; priced at 3.16x EBITDA — a mid-sized logistics business with contracted customer relationships supported a mid-market multiple typical for the subsegment.
21	QLD Road Freight Transport Business (name undisclosed)	Undisclosed	$1,260,000	2025	Completed asset sale; revenue approximately $2,336,226, EBITDA approximately $473,684; priced at 2.66x EBITDA — a smaller regional transport operator without long-term contracted revenue priced toward the lower end of the road freight range.
22	Farragher Logistics (91-year-old refrigerated operator)	Hawk Logistics	Undisclosed	Dec 2024	A near century-old family refrigerated transport business changed hands as part of an active consolidator's growth strategy, following a similar bolt-on the previous year.
23	Flinders Logistics	Aurizon (ASX: AZJ)	$26.0M	Dec 2024	Deal was restructured to satisfy ACCC concerns before clearing - a practical reminder that a sale to a very large acquirer can trigger mandatory merger review even at modest deal values.
24	BTi Logistics (forwarder and customs broker)	OIA Global	Undisclosed	Nov 2024	Offshore strategic buyer acquisition of a combined forwarding and customs brokerage business, a common structure in the mid-market where the two services are frequently sold together.
25	NSW Logistics and Warehousing Business (name undisclosed)	Undisclosed	$6,678,632	2024	Completed asset sale; revenue approximately $46,048,312, EBITDA approximately $2,036,168; priced at 3.28x EBITDA — a larger logistics operator with thin freight-forwarding margins priced toward the lower end of the mid-market range despite its substantial revenue base.
26	QLD Courier and Last-Mile Delivery Business (name undisclosed)	Undisclosed	$1,800,000	2024	Completed asset sale; revenue approximately $3,658,341, EBITDA approximately $592,105; priced at 3.04x EBITDA — a regional courier network with an established contractor base landed squarely within the observed range for last-mile operators.
27	Secon (container and port logistics)	Silk Logistics (ASX: SLH)	Approx. $35.0M (cash plus acquirer shares, plus earn-out)	Aug 2023	Structured consideration combining cash, acquirer shares and an earn-out - illustrating how a smaller container logistics operator can achieve a fuller valuation when the buyer is willing to share future upside risk.
28	Rocky's Own Transport (dangerous goods, mining)	Centurion	Undisclosed (asset sale)	Jul 2023	Specialist dangerous goods and mining-exposure carrier acquired via an asset sale, reflecting buyer appetite for niche accreditation and customer relationships in resources-linked freight.
29	VIC Road Freight Transport Business (name undisclosed)	Undisclosed	$1,335,000	2023	Completed asset sale; revenue approximately $1,263,692, EBITDA approximately $203,196; priced at 6.57x EBITDA — a specialised vehicle transport operator achieved a premium multiple on a small earnings base, reflecting a defensible niche and low reliance on the owner.
30	QLD Road Freight Transport Business (name undisclosed)	Undisclosed	$1,650,000	2023	Completed asset sale; revenue approximately $941,657, EBITDA approximately $411,471; priced at 4.01x EBITDA — a small commercial vehicle hire operator with strong margins attracted a solid multiple despite its modest revenue base.
31	Glen Cameron Group	DHL Supply Chain	Undisclosed	2022	Large-scale platform transaction shown for context - the combined DHL and Cameron Australian revenue exceeded $1 billion, well above the typical mid-market range this report focuses on.
32	NSW Road Freight Transport Business (name undisclosed)	Undisclosed	$1,350,000	2022	Completed asset sale; revenue approximately $5,159,063; multiple not disclosed — a regional road freight operator sold as part of an owner-driven succession process.

Transaction Commentary

Lindsay Australia — Building Scale Through Regional Bolt-Ons

Lindsay Australia's acquisitions of GJ Freight in Western Australia and SRT Logistics in Tasmania within a few months of each other show a deliberate regional expansion strategy - adding depot networks and established customer bases in states where the buyer previously had a lighter footprint, rather than competing head-on in the crowded eastern seaboard corridor. The SRT deal disclosed a clean EBIT multiple of approximately 7.4x with a meaningful share-based component, among the more transparent pricing structures in this dataset. For an owner in a regional market with a defensible customer base, the practical read is that scaled listed strategics are willing to pay for genuine network coverage they cannot quickly replicate - but they are pricing it on EBIT or EBITDA multiples in the mid-single digits, not extraordinary ones, and often want the vendor to retain some ongoing stake or involvement.

Freightways and the Asset-Light Express Model

Freightways' acquisition of VT Freight Express, priced on a revenue basis rather than a disclosed EBITDA multiple, illustrates a genuinely different valuation approach for asset-light operators. A business built on contractor relationships and leased facilities rather than an owned fleet can be valued more like a client base and delivery network than a traditional capital-intensive transport operation. This sits alongside Freightways' earlier acquisition of Allied Express, which included a meaningful equity rollover for the selling family. For an owner running a contractor-based or franchise-style delivery model, the opportunity is real, but buyers will scrutinise contractor classification risk closely given the tightening regulatory environment around on-demand and gig-style delivery work.

Succession Sales Remain the Backbone of Mid-Market Activity

A clear thread runs through many of the smaller transactions in this dataset: family businesses reaching a natural succession point after decades of operation. Total Freight Solutions, Camrandale Transport and Farragher Logistics were all long-standing, family-owned operators that sold to established consolidators rather than winding down. None of these disclosed a transaction value, which is typical for this end of the market, but the pattern itself is the signal - buyers remain genuinely interested in absorbing well-run regional operators with retained customer relationships and driver teams, and a well-prepared succession sale process consistently attracts more than one type of buyer.

Distress and Regulation Are Reshaping the Seller Pool

Not every transaction in this market happens on the seller's terms. Ron Crouch Transport was sold out of voluntary administration after the owner cited sham contracting exposure, rate pressure and driver shortage - a combination of cost and compliance pressure that pushed a genuinely long-standing operator into a forced sale. The Flinders Logistics acquisition by Aurizon, meanwhile, needed to be restructured to satisfy ACCC concerns before it could complete, a reminder that Australia's mandatory merger notification regime, in effect since January 2026, now captures deals well below headline "big deal" territory whenever a very large acquirer is involved. Owners considering a sale to a major strategic buyer should build merger review timing into their expectations from the outset.

Valuation Benchmarks by Subsegment

These ranges reflect verified transactions and well-evidenced private valuation publications for businesses broadly in the $2M-$50M revenue range. They are a starting point for a conversation, not a substitute for a proper valuation, which should always account for a specific business's contract quality, fleet condition, customer concentration and management depth. All multiples below apply to normalised EBITDA after a market-rate owner's salary has been deducted, and - unlike some other sectors - are generally quoted separately from the value of the fleet or leased premises, which buyers typically price on top of the earnings multiple rather than folding in. Ranges above 6x EBITDA are shown only where they reflect genuine platform-scale or listed comparables, which sit well outside the typical mid-market business covered in this report.

Subsegment	Smaller Business (under $1M EBITDA)	Mid-Market ($1M-$5M EBITDA)	Platform/Scale ($5M+ EBITDA)
Road freight transport - contracted, multi-year customers	2.5x-3.5x	3.5x-5.0x	5.0x-7.0x (listed comparables)
Road freight transport - spot market, owner-operated	2.0x-2.5x	2.5x-3.5x	n/a - rarely reaches this scale without contracts
Freight forwarding and customs brokerage	3.0x-4.0x	4.0x-5.0x (up to 7.0x for specialist niches, indicative)	7.0x+ (specialist/global platform buyers only)
Third-party logistics (3PL) and contract warehousing	3.0x-4.0x	4.0x-5.0x	5.0x-6.0x (secured premises and long leases lift this band)
Courier and last-mile delivery	1.5x-2.5x (SDE-based small operators price lower still, see note below)	2.5x-4.0x	4.0x-6.0x (technology-enabled platforms, indicative)
Listed road and rail comparables (context only, not an SME benchmark)	n/a	n/a	3x-7x EV/EBITDA (LTM); premiums of 14x+ paid only for Qube and Silk Logistics, both clearly flagged platform/infrastructure exceptions

A note on methodology: these bands reflect normalised EBITDA multiples only, with fleet and property value typically assessed separately. Some private valuation guides quote courier and logistics businesses at 2.0x-3.5x seller's discretionary earnings (SDE) for owner-operated businesses - a materially different and typically lower earnings base than EBITDA, so this figure has been excluded from the table above rather than blended in. As a general rule of thumb, an SDE multiple of roughly 2.5x and an EBITDA multiple of roughly 4x can describe a very similar underlying business, since SDE already includes an owner's salary that EBITDA does not. Broader market data also confirms a consistent size discount: businesses under $20M revenue typically transact at a median of around 7.0x EV/EBITDA across all sectors, while transport and logistics-specific evidence sits meaningfully below that broader market median, which supports treating any multiple above 6x-7x as the exception rather than the rule for a typical mid-market transport or logistics sale.

Demand Drivers

The driver shortage is turning workforce into a genuine acquisition target

Australia's truck driver shortage rose from 10% of the workforce in 2024 to 12% in 2025, and the picture only gets tighter from here: the average driver is 51 years old, close to 45% are over 55, and more than 43,000 drivers - roughly a quarter of the current workforce - are expected to retire by 2030. Nearly half of trucking businesses report severe difficulty recruiting. For a buyer, this makes acquiring a business with a stable, retained driver team materially more valuable than simply buying trucks, because idle vehicles still carry depreciation and finance costs whether or not there is anyone to drive them. For an owner, it means a documented, low-turnover workforce is one of the clearest value levers available before a sale.

E-commerce and parcel volumes continue to grow the freight task

Australia Post's parcel volumes grew 5.3% in the past financial year and parcels and services revenue rose close to 5% to just over $8 billion, even as the business noted intensifying competition from global marketplaces and private equity-backed delivery providers. More broadly, population growth, infrastructure investment and steady domestic consumption continue to support freight task growth, and industry commentary is explicit that the current cost pressure facing the sector is not a demand problem - underlying volumes remain healthy. That combination of genuine volume growth and margin pressure is precisely the environment in which well-run, well-capitalised buyers look to acquire rather than build.

Tight industrial land is making secured premises a real asset

National industrial and logistics vacancy sat at just 3.2% in the first half of 2026, with Sydney at 3.5%, Melbourne at 4.7% and Perth as low as 1.0%. Some industry submissions cite Sydney vacancy as low as 0.2% in parts of the market. For a warehousing, 3PL or freight forwarding business, a secured depot or warehouse lease with a decade or more remaining is no longer a minor operational detail - it is a scarce, strategically valuable asset in its own right, and buyers are increasingly willing to pay a premium for businesses that hold one rather than face years of searching for suitable space themselves.

Fuel volatility is accelerating the case for contracted, levy-protected revenue

Diesel prices spiked sharply in 2026 following the Iran conflict, rising from around 180 cents to more than 310 cents per litre at the peak, prompting the federal government to offer $1 billion in interest-free loans to affected transport and freight businesses. Fuel typically makes up about 30% of trucking operating costs, so a single-truck or small-fleet operator without a contractual fuel levy mechanism can see margin evaporate almost overnight when prices move like this. Businesses that can show multi-year contracts with built-in fuel cost recovery are demonstrably better placed to weather this kind of shock, and buyers price that protection into what they are willing to pay.

Rising insolvencies are creating a genuine supply of sale opportunities

Transport, postal and warehousing insolvency appointments rose 14% in the 2026 financial year even as company insolvencies fell overall, and road transport business exits over the twelve months to November 2025 were around 40% higher than the prior year. Industry commentary expects further failures and consolidation through the rest of 2026 as the gap between rising input costs and achievable sale prices remains under real pressure. For owners who act before distress sets in, this environment still supports a genuine, well-prepared sale process - the businesses attracting the strongest buyer interest are consistently the ones that come to market on their own terms rather than as a forced sale.

Family succession remains a defining feature of the seller pool

Several of the transactions in this report involved multi-generation family businesses reaching a natural succession point - operators that had traded for anywhere from several decades to close to a century before selling. This matches the broader ageing owner and driver profile across the sector, and reflects the same succession dynamic seen across most of Australian small business. Owners in this position who begin planning two to three years ahead of an intended sale consistently achieve a smoother process and a stronger outcome than those who leave it to the final twelve months.

2026 Market Outlook: Timing, Trends, and Opportunities

2026 is a genuinely active year to assess options for transport, freight forwarding and logistics business owners, particularly where succession is on the horizon. Buyer appetite remains healthy across listed strategics, private equity platforms and offshore forwarders, and the sector's underlying demand drivers - e-commerce growth, freight task expansion and tight industrial land - all point to continued buyer interest even as cost pressures bite. The Heavy Vehicle National Law reform that commenced on 1 August 2026 marks the most significant regulatory overhaul since the law was first introduced in 2012, and buyers are already testing whether targets have updated their accreditation, fatigue management and record-keeping systems as part of due diligence. Owners who get ahead of this compliance shift, rather than reacting to it during a sale process, present as materially lower risk.

The businesses receiving the strongest buyer attention tend to share several features: contracted revenue with fuel levy pass-through built in; a customer base that is not concentrated in one or two large accounts; a stable, retained driver or operations team; documented compliance and Chain of Responsibility systems; and a secured depot, warehouse or terminal lease rather than exposure to the current tight industrial property market. None of these are abstract. They are the specific items a buyer's due diligence team will test before deciding how much to offer and how the deal should be structured.

There are genuine headwinds too. Heavy vehicle charges have risen for four consecutive years, superannuation contributions increase again from mid-2026, and fuel costs remain volatile even after the immediate 2026 spike eased. A Productivity Commission proposal to phase out fuel tax credits for heavy vehicles, if it proceeds, would add further cost pressure over the coming decade - though this remains a proposal only and has not been confirmed as policy. Owners should also expect a sale to a very large acquirer, such as one of the major listed or global strategics named in this report, may require mandatory ACCC merger notification given the regime that took effect from January 2026, and should build that timeline into their expectations from the outset.

Key Operators

These businesses show the scale of active strategic buyers and major sector participants. The figures provide context only; they are not valuation benchmarks for a private business.

Company	ASX Code/Ownership	Revenue	Notes
Toll Group	Japan Post (private)	Group revenue undisclosed	14,000+ team members across 300+ sites in 140+ countries; acquired Transolve Global in 2025.
Team Global Express	Allegro Funds (private)	$2.9B (FY25)	8,500+ people, 650+ depots and hubs; highest road freight market share by IBISWorld estimate.
Linfox	Privately owned (Fox family)	Revenue undisclosed	24,000+ people, more than 450 million km travelled a year, 4.8 million square metres of warehousing.
Qube Holdings	Macquarie Asset Management-led consortium (delisted 2026)	FY25 EBITDA approx. $806M (proportionally consolidated)	Australia's largest import/export logistics provider; about 10,000 employees and 200+ locations; taken private at approximately 14.5x EBITDA - a clearly flagged platform-scale exception.
Aurizon	ASX: AZJ	FY26 underlying EBITDA $1,724M (+9%)	More than 250 million tonnes hauled a year across Network, Coal, Bulk and Containerised Freight; acquired Flinders Logistics in 2024.
DHL Supply Chain	Deutsche Post DHL	Revenue undisclosed	Contract logistics (3PL) operator; acquired Glen Cameron Group in 2022.
Kuehne+Nagel	SIX-listed (Swiss)	Group revenue undisclosed	Largest road freight forwarder in Australia by IBISWorld estimate; group has about 88,000 employees across roughly 1,300 sites worldwide.
DSV (including former DB Schenker)	Nasdaq Copenhagen-listed	Group revenue undisclosed	Completed the global Schenker acquisition in April 2025; combined group has about 160,000 employees.
DP World Australia (including Silk Logistics)	DP World (Dubai, private)	Revenue undisclosed	Ports, logistics, freight forwarding and contract logistics; acquired Silk Logistics in 2025 at approximately 14x EV/EBIT - a clearly flagged platform-scale exception.
Freightways (including Allied Express, VT Freight Express)	NZX/ASX-listed	Group revenue undisclosed	Courier, linehaul and temperature-controlled logistics; active mid-market acquirer.
FMH Group (efm)	Pacific Equity Partners	Revenue undisclosed	Largest fourth-party logistics (4PL) operator in Australia and New Zealand; more than 60,000 square metres of warehousing; acquired AFS Logistics in 2025.
Lindsay Australia	ASX: LAU	$1,072.7M (FY26 revenue)	1.6 million-plus tonnes moved a year across 5,000-plus customers; acquired SRT Logistics and GJ Freight.
CTI Logistics	ASX: CLX	$357.1M (FY26 revenue)	1,000-plus staff and 750-plus vehicles concentrated in Western Australia.
K&S Corporation	ASX: KSC	$729.2M (FY26 operating revenue)	Scott family holds 65.26%; Linfox holds 18.05%.
Centurion	Independently owned (WA)	Revenue undisclosed	35 distribution centres and more than 5,000 vehicle assets; acquired Rocky's Own Transport in 2023.
Bulk Group	Private	Revenue undisclosed	Linehaul, 3PL, forwarding and customs; acquired North Coast Freight and Lormac Transport in 2025 to form Bulk Regional Express.
Ofload	Private, venture-backed	Revenue undisclosed	Digital road freight network and marketplace; acquired National Transport Solutions in 2026 and MF Freight in 2023.
Cyclone Global Logistics	Australian-owned, private	$100M turnover (2020); 25,000 TEU a year	Forwarder founded in 2004; an active acquirer in the freight forwarding and customs brokerage space.

What Drives Value in Transport, Freight Forwarding and Logistics Businesses

Contracted Revenue with Fuel Levy Protection

A transport or logistics business earning most of its revenue from multi-year contracts with built-in rate escalation and fuel cost recovery is inherently more valuable than one relying on spot-market work, because it gives a buyer real visibility over future earnings rather than a hope that current rates will hold. Fuel alone makes up around 30% of trucking operating costs, so a contract without a levy mechanism leaves a business exposed to exactly the kind of price shock seen in 2026, when diesel briefly rose from around 180 to more than 310 cents per litre. Owners can start improving this well before a sale by renegotiating key contracts to include a clear, formula-based fuel recovery clause rather than relying on informal rate reviews.

Customer Diversification

A business that relies on one or two large customers for the bulk of its revenue is inherently riskier to buy than one with a broad customer base, no matter how strong those individual relationships are. Buyers will always ask what percentage of revenue and margin sits with each customer, how long those relationships have run, and what would happen if one contract ended. The goal is not to walk away from strong existing customers - it is to demonstrate a realistic pipeline of new business and more than one or two accounts that could absorb a loss without threatening the business.

Driver and Workforce Retention

With more than 40,000 drivers expected to retire by 2030 and close to half of trucking businesses reporting severe recruiting difficulty, a stable, low-turnover driver or operations team is now one of the most concrete value drivers in the sector. Buyers are, in effect, partly acquiring workforce access when they buy a transport business, and a documented retention record - alongside clear rosters, fair pay structures and low reliance on casual or agency labour - gives a buyer real confidence that the business can keep running smoothly through an ownership transition.

Compliance and Accreditation Systems

The Heavy Vehicle National Law reform that commenced in August 2026 introduced a new accreditation scheme alongside updated fatigue management and record-keeping requirements, and buyers are testing whether targets have kept pace with these changes as a standard part of due diligence. Chain of Responsibility systems, up-to-date fatigue management, and clean compliance records reduce a buyer's perceived risk meaningfully, particularly given the increased regulatory scrutiny on contractor classification and on-demand delivery work introduced through 2026 Fair Work changes.

Fleet Condition and Secured Premises

Buyers in this sector generally value the fleet and any owned or leased premises separately from the earnings multiple, so an ageing fleet with deferred maintenance, or a lease with only a year or two remaining in a market where industrial vacancy sits below 3.5% in most capital cities, both weigh directly on what a buyer is willing to offer. A well-maintained fleet with a clear replacement schedule, and a secured depot or warehouse lease with a decade or more remaining, are both concrete, demonstrable assets that support a stronger outcome.

Management Depth Beyond the Founder

A transport or logistics business is worth more when it can keep operating smoothly after the owner steps back. If the founder personally manages key customer relationships, driver rosters and supplier negotiations with no one else across the detail, buyers will discount the price to account for the risk of losing that knowledge on day one of a new ownership structure. Building a genuine second layer of management - even a single well-trained operations manager - well before a sale process begins is one of the most effective ways to support a stronger valuation and a smoother transition.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics — Counts of Australian Businesses, including entries and exits, latest release
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics — Counts of Australian Businesses data cube, July 2021–June 2025
3. Australian Bureau of Statistics — Australian Industry, latest release (Transport, Postal and Warehousing)
4. Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics — Australian Infrastructure and Transport Statistics Yearbook 2025
5. Jobs and Skills Australia — Transport, Postal and Warehousing industry profile
6. IBISWorld — Road Freight Transport in Australia
7. IBISWorld — Road Freight Forwarding in Australia
8. IBISWorld — General Warehousing and Cold Storage market size
9. Australian Logistics Council — 2026–27 Pre-Budget Submission
10. Australian Bureau of Statistics — ANZSIC 2006, Class 5292 Freight Forwarding Services
11. Trailer Magazine — Greenfreight divests highway business
12. Business News Australia — Ofload acquires National Transport Solutions
13. Freight and Trade Alliance — Phoenix Transport acquisition by Direct Couriers
14. Rendr — Rendr acquired by Australia Post
15. Freightways — ASX announcement, VT Freight Express acquisition
16. Big Rigs — Freight Specialists acquires Ron Crouch Transport
17. FMH Group — Newsroom (AFS Logistics acquisition)
18. Igneo Infrastructure Partners — Igneo acquires Strait Link
19. Freight and Trade Alliance — Tomkinson Global Logistics acquisition
20. CFI Group — Total Freight Solutions acquired by RGD Logistics
21. Bulk Group — North Coast Freight and Lormac Transport acquisition
22. Toll Group — Toll Group acquiring Transolve Global
23. CFI Group — CRE Solutions acquired by SCT Logistics
24. Big Rigs — Blacks Transport Group acquires Peter Carter Transport
25. Fully Loaded — GJ Freight acquired by Lindsay Australia
26. Big Rigs — Hawk Logistics acquires Farragher Logistics
27. Deliver.com.au — Australian transport industry consolidation overview (Flinders Logistics/Aurizon, Secon/Silk Logistics, Rocky's Own/Centurion, Glen Cameron/DHL, Bag Trans/FMH)
28. BDO Australia — OIA Global acquires BTi Logistics
29. Qube Holdings — ASX Scheme Implementation Deed with Macquarie Asset Management-led consortium
30. Trailer Magazine — Macquarie acquires Qube Holdings for $11.7 billion
31. DP World — DP World Australia announces acquisition of Silk Logistics
32. Argonaut Research — Silk Logistics (CLX) valuation note
33. Lindsay Australia — Acquisition of SRT Logistics and market update
34. Oliver Group — EBITDA multiples by industry in Australia
35. Oliver Group — Selling a transport and logistics business
36. Miro Capital — How much is my transport business worth
37. Everest Business Valuations — Transportation industry valuation guide
38. business-sales.info — Industry valuation multiples
39. Iain Darroch — Small business valuation multiples by industry in Australia
40. Grant Thornton Australia — Dealtracker 2025
41. EAC Partners — Transport and Logistics sector update, August 2025
42. PwC — Transport and Logistics Barometer 2026
43. International Post Corporation — Australia Post FY26 results summary
44. CBRE — Australia's national industrial and logistics vacancy remains steady at 3.2%
45. Big Rigs — Australia faces worsening truck driver shortage, IRU/Microlise report
46. Grant Thornton Australia — Australia's transport and logistics sector facing structural margin pressure and insolvencies
47. Equifund — Australian business cash flow pressure 2026 (CreditorWatch data)
48. BBC News — Fuel price impact following the Iran conflict
49. National Heavy Vehicle Regulator — A new era of regulation: commencement of the Heavy Vehicle National Law reform
50. Fair Work Ombudsman — Newsroom (road transport orders and on-demand delivery standards)
51. Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association — Submission on Heavy Vehicle Charges for 2026–27
52. Big Rigs — Road freight industry response to proposed fuel tax credit changes
53. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission — Thresholds for notifying acquisitions
54. Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts — Updated National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy
55. Morgan Business Sales — Book a confidential consultation

Disclaimer: This report has been prepared by Morgan Business Sales for general information purposes only. It does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Transaction values, multiples, and market data are sourced from publicly available information and third-party research. Actual outcomes vary depending on individual business characteristics, market conditions, and negotiated terms. Readers should seek independent professional advice before making any business or investment decisions. Morgan Business Sales is not responsible for decisions made based on information contained in this report.